First-class Karl

Flowers was appointed as goalkeeping coach by Stuart Pearce in the summer, shortly before Darlow agreed to join Newcastle United permanently.

The keeper returned to The City Ground on a season-long loan as part of the deal and Flowers has been impressed with Darlow’s commitment to the club that gave him his break in senior football.

He told Forest Player: “He’s been first class. He hasn’t once mentioned Newcastle United and he’s totally focused on playing for Nottingham Forest.

“Right now I think Karl is in a decent place. He’s played well for the lion’s share of the season.

“At his age he still has a lot of development to come. He’s a big, strong lad, but learning in a game environment week in week out is key for a goalkeeper.

“That’s why we’re so keen to get lads out on loan if they’re not playing.”

Flowers was full of praise for fellow goalkeepers Dorus de Vries and Dimitar Evtimov too, while he also spoke of how impressed he has been with the club’s travelling support.

He said: “I didn’t actually realise how big the club is. When I see the number of fans we take away from home, especially in the last two games, we are a very big football club. That’s the biggest thing I’ve noticed.

“I always expected the standard of goalkeeping to be high, and I haven’t been disappointed there. We’ve got some very, very good goalkeepers on our books and they’re all ready to play, which is the main thing.”